TGS 2001: Capcom Debuts Automodellista

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Yes, it's got cel-shading, but you don't need to completely write it off quite yet...

By IGN Staff

Lurking in a corner of the Capcom booth at the Tokyo Game Show today was an unusual piece of work. Automodellista is the title, presumably Italian or something that's trying to be, and it appears to be a purely cel-shaded answer to Shutokou Battle, with street racing on the highways in hopped-up import cars done over in a thoroughly cartoonish style (lots of variations on the old Z and the newer-model RX-7 in evidence). It would be easy to dismiss as an abuse of the graphical flavor of the month if it didn't honestly look very good -- this will be one to keep an eye on in 2002.

There wasn't a great deal of gameplay proper in the trailer movie, but the replays shows could easily translate to reproductions of gameplay. Smooth cartoon cars charged about highways with expansive city backgrounds behind them, all at a perfect framerate, even when weather effects came into play. A few scenes of rain on the cel-shaded cars and tracks looked like the next thing to realtime 2D animation -- the effect is just that smooth. Hard to describe unless you've seen it, but it's certainly worth seeing.

As the name suggests, it also looks like Automodellista will allow players to customize the look and performance of their rides -- a Styling Mode was in evidence in the more sedate periods of the trailer, with different options for colors, painting styles, and exterior modifications. Some portions even had the look of online exchanges, but that would just be speculation at this point.

Expect more on Automodellista later in the show, and in the months thereafter. It still has a ways to go, with no playable demo in evidence and a 2002 release, but Capcom should begin pushing it more heavily as its 2001 big guns come and go.